about aikido

The
founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, was born in Japan in 1883. Since he
was a weak child, his father tried to motivate him to work out and grow
stronger by telling him stories about his granddad, one of the strongest
Samurai of his time. During master Ueshiba's youth, thugs hired by
politicians confronted to his father made his decision to grow stronger
and study martial arts even more firm. Learning fencing and Ju- jutsu
from many masters, master Ueshiba grew so strong that he became famous
for the strength of his hands. He went to school and tried to start a
business, but this wasn't enough for him. During his studies of martial
arts master Ueshiba encountered the famous master Sokaku Takeda who
taught him the art of Daito- ryu aiki ju- jutsu.

Sokaku
Takeda was probably the last famous swordsmen of the Sword Era, which
lasted well into the 19th century in Japan. This man was the last
descendant of a famous Samurai family. Besides being a master
swordsman, he also mastered many traditional weapons that were used on
the battlefields of medieval Japan. Daito- ryu aiki ju- jutsu was an
art of unarmed combat that was passed from one generation to the next
in his family. When changes took place in Japan, it became clear that a
swordsman, no matter how skilled and famous he may be, can not live by
his sword. So, master Takeda turned to teaching Ju- jutsu.

After
his father died, master Ueshiba joined a Shinto new religion,
called Omoto- kyo, and embraced the ideas of pacifism and non-
violence. He probably started to contemplate on the destructive nature
of
traditional martial arts at this time, which had defeating the enemy in
the most efficient way with no regard for cruelty set as a goal. Master
Ueshiba started to transform the arts he mastered into an art which
would give us the possibility to defend ourselves and to preserve our
foe from serious injuries at the same time. In 1942. master Ueshiba
changed the name of his art from Aiki- budo (this name still contained
the link to the aggressive nature of the warrior tradition) to Aikido.
While the war raged in a tormented world, master Ueshiba seems to have
grasped the true nature of the problem and tried to instruct humans in
ways of overcoming their troubles through his short and meaningful
messages:

"The
art of peace is a medicine for a sick world. There is evil and disorder
in the world because people have forgotten that all things emanate from
one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self- centered
thoughts, petty desires and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing
possess everything."

"To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control the aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace."

Before he died in 1969. master Ueshiba legated Aikido to whole mankind: "Aikido is for the entire world. Train not for selfish reasons, but for all people everywhere."

Aikido is not a sport, it is
a defense art. A sportsman invests his time and energy in order to gain
a desired result, while a defense art trainee acquires a skill which
helps him preserve emotional and mental stability, which is very
important in contemporary society, improves his health and helps build
relationships with other people unburdened with competitive spirit and
ego. Only in extreme situations will Aikido be applied in it's original
form, and even then both attacker and the defender will be preserved
from serious injury. Aikido, unlike many sports, doesn't have
requirements regarding the trainees health, age or sex:

"The
Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task
in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body
that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are
here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and
manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and
than apply the Art to all that you encounter."